Traditional Caribbean Weddings

Caribbean weddings surely do borrow from popular U.S. wedding customs.  However, Caribbean islanders have a rich African and European heritage, so you can be sure they have some customs of their own.  Caribbean weddings can have a special flavor all their own.

One popular tradition is for the bride and groom to don their very finest clothes, and walk from the home to the church.  The point of this tradition is to announce and proclaim the wedding celebration.   Community members line the streets, and they admire the couple as they stroll by.  Since guests are usually invited by way of word-of-mouth, it isn’t surprising that Caribbean weddings are open to whomever shows up, invited or not!

Ceremonies are often comprised of Catholic, Mayan and African elements.   The bride’s father or parents will escort her down the aisle.  You won’t usually find a best man at a traditional island wedding.  The ceremony is followed by a reception, and is accompanied by gorgeous steel-drum music.

Traditional Caribbean wedding gifts include quilts and hand-made furniture.   Caribbean wedding presents are often hand-made, the gifts reflecting the gorgeous handiwork of talented island artisans.

When serving a reception dinner in the Caribbean, it is hard to go wrong with curried goat and spicy chicken jerky.   Often those dishes will be punctuated with fried plantains and conch fritters.  You’ll feel the island ambiance when eating these scrumptious island treats.

A Caribbean island wedding cake is very unique; you’ll not find another like it in the world.   It’s called the “Black Cake” which has a beautiful tradition associated with it.   Mothers pass the recipe to daughters, and the daughter is charged with improving the recipe in some way.   The idea is that each successive generation makes the recipe more delicious.

The cake has the same basic ingredients, no matter what: a pound of flour, brown sugar, butter, glazed cherries, currants, prunes, raisins, and 12 fresh eggs. ~ The cake has a delicious hard rum sauce, and the fruits are often left soaking in rum anywhere from 2 weeks to an entire year. (Here’s a recipe)

Once the wedding is over, the couple heads off on the Caribbean honeymoon.  The groom will often provide a secluded place to stay, or they may travel to a nearby island to get away.   After a week of togetherness, they return home to begin their married life together.

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